


A Year With Dark Paladin

by averyverymary



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, F/M, Fluff, about a duel monster interacting with the world, really really cute stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2017-08-24
Packaged: 2018-12-18 02:55:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11865183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/averyverymary/pseuds/averyverymary
Summary: One day, you make a fate chance encounter with your favorite card.





	1. Spring

**Author's Note:**

> A kind of self-indulgent fic about Dark Paladin. I love that card.

The cherry blossoms fell from the tree when you made a fateful meeting with that card.

One day, you entered the card shop, eager to start building a deck to duel with your friends. Suddenly, you noticed a very beautiful card. You were entranced by the look of it.

“Welcome to my card shop. How may I help you?”

You looked at the store keeper and pointed to the card. “Excuse me, what is the name of that card?”

“Why, that’s Dark Paladin! It’s a powerful card, when summoned correctly. But it’s a fusion summon card. You need a Dark Magician, Buster Blader, and Polymerization to summon it.”

“I want that card, please.”

“Very well.” The store keeper gently took the card out of the display and placed it in a card protector. “That’ll be $20. Anything else?”

“Hm… I’ll also take the cards you need to summon it.”

“Very well. Give me a moment to find them.” He walked away and came back several minutes later with more cards.

“One Dark Magician, one Buster Blader, and one Polymerization. Your total comes out to be $36.”

You handed the store keeper the money, and left the store with a smile on your face. “Yay! I got my hands on such a beautiful card.”

You reached into the bag and took out the shiny Dark Paladin card. “I can’t wait to use you!”


	2. Summer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please enjoy reading~

You have been dueling with your friends with the cards you have managed to gather for the past few months. Your deck revolved around Spellcasters with some surprises sprinkled here and there.

On one hot summer night, you were organizing your deck on your bed. In the middle of the scattered cards was your precious Dark Paladin. He has always been your ace card. You loved him so much.

You released a tired sigh. “I wish you were real. You are so awesome, and I adore you so much.”

You kissed the card. “Well, time to sleep.”

You placed your cards away, and went to sleep. You were unaware of your deck case glowing.

* * *

When you woke up the next morning, you felt a strange weight upon your body. You wiped your eyes, and what you saw shocked you and almost made you faint.

_There was Dark Paladin, lying across your body on his stomach._

There was a confused look on his face.

Your jaw dropped. “W-what the heck? Dark Paladin?!”

He turned his head to look at you. Then down at the ground. He slowly stood up, and you could see he looked exactly like his picture on the card. Even with that huge blade that almost touched your ceiling. You gaped at the… ~~monster spellcaster~~ man standing in your room.

“No way. No freaking way. I must be dreaming.”

“You’re not dreaming, (Name).”

His voice was a baritone. That made you flush lightly. You had always imagined that if he was real, his voice would sound like that. But then you realize what he said.

“I’m not dreaming?!”

And you fainted.

* * *

You managed to wake up and freshen up in the bathroom. Soon, you were making breakfast. Dark Paladin was sitting on one of the stools at your kitchen island. You had made him place his weapon elsewhere, which meant in your room wrapped in a giant quilt. You weren’t really in the mood to have someone carrying a giant blade like that in your house.

When you were finished cooking, you placed a plate and a cup of water in front of him. “I hope you can eat this.”

He gave the plate a look, and then back at you.

“Is there something wrong?”

He picked up the plate and he was about to shove it into his mouth.

You placed a hand on his arm and gently pulled it back onto the table. “No! Not like that! Here, I’ll show you…”

You picked up a fork, and showed him how to use the utensil to eat food. He managed to get the hang of it and he started to eat. You sat across from him, silently observing him as he ate carefully.

“How did you come to life, anyways?”

He paused in his eating. “You wished for it.”

A look of confusion appeared on your face. “I… wished for it?”

“You said these exact words: _’ I wish you were real. You are so awesome, and I adore you so much.’_ Word for word.”

Your mouth formed an ‘O’ shape at his words. “You… you heard what I said?!”

He nodded and picked up the cup of water you had poured for him earlier. He hesitantly drank the water. 

“Thank you for the food.”

“You’re welcome… I guess.”

You were sitting on your couch in the living room, trying to process what had just happened. Your favorite card came to life…

And right now, he was curiously looking at everything in your house.

“So… what are you going to do?”

He looked at you. “You wished me to life, and now I’m here.”

You pursed your lips together. What are you going to do?

You looked back at him. His attire was just exactly as his card look was, but…

You stood up. “We’ll have to change your clothes. I can’t have you looking like that if I have guests over.”

A confused look appeared on his face. “My clothes are fine…”

“I know they are. They are quite lovely, but still. I don’t want people to think anything strange. Stay here; I’ll be right back.”

You quickly went up towards your room, and took out a cardboard box from your closet. The box was labeled, ‘Boy Clothes for Cosplay’.

You took out an oversized navy blue sweater and a pair of black sweats. You went back outside and handed him the clothes.

“Wear these. Don’t worry about the size; they’re pretty much a normal size for a male.”

He slowly took them. “Why do you have these?”

“They’re my clothes for costumes, but I stopped wearing them when I got busy. Come on, put them on.”

He looked at the bundle of clothes once more, and started on removing his armor.

“W-wait! Not out here! Come here!”

You gently dragged him towards your bathroom and pushed him inside, closing the door. “Let me know when you’re done!”

Meanwhile, Dark Paladin looked at the door, and then at the clothes you had given him. He didn’t know much about humans and their clothing, but from where he lived in the spirit world, most of the spellcasters he knew all wore beautiful clothing…

He started to remove his armor, piece by piece. When all of the armor was gone, he was left in a cobalt blue unitard and his boots. He placed the sweater on first, noting how warm and comfortable it felt. Next, he put on the pants. It was easier than he thought. Once that was done, he looked at the mirror and smoothed out his sandy-colored hair. 

He picked up his armor pieces and knocked on your bathroom door, and you opened it. You gave him a look-over, and you nodded in approval. “You look nice.”

He handed you his armor pieces, and you took them gently. “Woo, they feel lighter than I thought.”

You moved into your room and he followed you. You placed the armor pieces near where his covered blade was. You stood up, brushing your hands. “There we go!”

You faced the spellcaster. There was a tight look on his face.

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

“It is awfully scorching… what time of the year is it?”

You replied, “It’s the summertime… oh! Oh, no! I gave you a sweater to wear! My bad! You can take it off if you want to.”

He quickly took it off, and you noticed the unitard he wore beneath.

“Why didn't you just tell me you wore that under your armor?”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “You didn’t ask.”

You sweatdropped. “All right… I’ll show you something. Come on.”

You led him back into your living room, over to one of the fans you had set up for the summer months. You switched it on, and a gust of air brushed his hair back. A dumbfounded look appeared on his face.

“What is this?”

“This is a fan. It’ll keep you cool.”

You sat down, enjoying the gentle breeze from the fan. He slowly sat down next to you. The breeze felt soothing against the heat he was starting to feel. It was never this hot back in the spirit world…

“Well… what should we do?”

“I’m comfortable like this.”

You grinned. “Good. I’m glad… I hope we can be friends, then. I don’t know how to send you back where you belong. I guess I can try and take care of you for the time being.”

He grunted in agreement. “Thank you, (Name).”


	3. Autumn

Red, orange, and yellow leaves were starting to change from the green shade they once were. Some of those leaves had fallen to the ground.

It had been a few months since Dark Paladin came into your world and into your life. You were more or less used to his presence. 

On one lovely day, you decided to take him outside to explore your neighborhood. You just hoped that the bullshit story you would tell people about his skin color would work…

“Come on, Dark Paladin! I know it’s been hard to stay cooped up here. Let’s go outside! There are so many things I want you to see.”

He allowed you to drag him along. You took him to the park, and what he saw made his eyes grow wide.

The sight of people playing in the park among the fallen leaves made him feel sad with nostalgia…

“WOAH! Is that a Smurf?”

Dark Paladin looked down to see some kids looking up at him in marvel. He raised an eyebrow at their question.

“What… is a Smurf?”

“Boys! Don’t be rude!”

Their mother approached the boys and bowed quickly to Dark Paladin, murmuring out an apology. When they left, you came back holding a small food carton. “What was that all about?”

“Some kids asked me if I was a Smurf.”

A laugh escaped you before you could stop it, which for some reason made him feel at ease. “Ah, I’ll tell you what a Smurf is later. Right now, let’s eat!”

Soon, you both were sitting on a bench enjoying some food. Dark Paladin took a careful look at the paper-wrapped sandwich you handed him. He understood what a sandwich was. It reminded him of the Hungry Burger back in the spirit world… he shuddered inwardly at the memory. He took a tentative bite, and the feeling of the meat, lettuce, tomato, and cheese (as you told him what the sandwich had) made him smile.

“This is delicious,” he said once he had swallowed. 

“Here, have some fries!”

You handed the carton over to him, and he carefully took one and ate it.

“Interesting texture.”

“Fries are the best things in the world! Though there’s a different version that is much better, called curly fries, but we’ll try it next time.”

He looked at you. “Why not try it now?”

You replied, “Do you want some? Then go and try buying some! There’s a food cart right over there! I’ll give you the money.”

You handed him the money (after he placed his own food down) and gently pushed him towards the food cart. He slowly approached it, and a man in his mid-forties eyed him. “Can I help you?”

Dark Paladin looked at the menu, and saw curly fries written with what he assumed was the price next to it. He turned back to the food cart man and said, “The curly fries, please.”  
The man only grunted and set on making some. Soon, he brought out a food carton and said, “That’ll be $2.”

He looked at the money you gave him, and he saw two paper bills. He assumed that it was the correct change and handed it to the man. The man said, “You got a skin problem?”

Dark Paladin’s brow furrowed. “I’m sorry?”

“You look like a Smurf. I’ve seen the movie. Bunch of strange looking aliens with blue skin.”

Dark Paladin just shook his head. What was he supposed to say? He didn’t even know what a Smurf was! _‘I’m certainly not one. I’m not an alien…’_

He picked up the paper carton, and left the cart after thanking the food cart guy. He came back to you, and you noticed the bewildered look on his face. 

“Is everything okay?”

He looked at you. “He also called me a Smurf.”

You giggled. “I’ll tell you what a Smurf is, soon. Though, you are definitely NOT one! For now, let’s take your curly fry virginity!”

He sat down, and soon, you both were eating curly fries.

“This is delicious.”

“Told you so.”

When you both were finished eating, you tossed the empty cartons into the trash, and you said, “Come on, let’s play in the leaves.”

You took him along to a different area in the park, and there were many leaves scattered on the ground.

“Looks good enough.”

Dark Paladin watched as you gathered the leaves into a pile. When you managed to gather a decent pile, you smiled at him. “Come on, you can jump in it!”

At that, you disappeared into the pile of leaves. When you did not emerge, he panicked.

“(Name)!”

He quickly went over towards the pile and started to dig through it to find you. Suddenly, a rush of leaves brushed over his face. He then heard your giggling.

“Come on!”

He brushed away the leaves to see you underneath, smiling at him. He exhaled a sigh of relief.

“Don’t scare me like that!” he scolded.

You frowned at the tone of his voice.

“Oh… I’m sorry. I forgot that you’re not used to what we humans do here. I apologize. I won’t do something like that again, okay?”

He released a soft huff, but then he picked up some of the leaves and placed them over your head, showering you in them. You squeaked at the unexpected leaf attack, and you threw some back at him in retaliation. Soon, it turned into an all-out leaf-throwing war.

When you both exhausted yourselves out, you were lying on the leaf-covered ground, looking up at the sky. Dark Paladin was panting slightly.

“How do you feel, Dark Paladin?”

He muttered, “It was fun.”

You smiled. “Good. I’m glad you had fun.”

He turned to look at you. “Now will you tell me what a Smurf is?”

* * *

**Extended Ending-Halloween/He’ll Find Out What a Smurf Is**

“Happy Halloween!

He just gave you a blank look. He was wearing his armor pieces and had his blade strapped on his back.

“This is the only day out of the whole year that you can dress up as whoever you want ad no one will care.”

“Well, what are you gonna be?”

Your eyes twinkled with mischief. “You’ll see~”

Soon, you stepped out wearing a white hat on a blonde wig and dress, with your skin painted blue. He gave you an incredulous look.

“What… are you?!”

“This is what a Smurf is! Well, I’m a female one, but here’s a picture of them.”

You showed him a picture of the Smurfs movie picture, and his jaw dropped slightly.

“What?! I do not look like one of those… Smurf things!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why yes I did have to do that to Dark Paladin XD


	4. Winter

The smell of chocolate lifted Dark Paladin from his sleep. He sat up from your bed, wiping at his eyes. The aroma of something sweet filled his nostrils.

He walked into the kitchen to see you stirring something inside a cup. “What are you doing?” he asked, approaching the kitchen island. 

You turned and smiled at him. “I’m making hot chocolate~ It’s the perfect drink for a cold day like this.”

You handed him a cup. “Here! Be careful, it’s hot.”

He took a tentative sip. A sweet taste filled his mouth, and he nodded approvingly. “This is quite sweet,” he remarked.

You smiled at him. “Thank you~”

Soon, the both of you were sitting on the couch, curled up in blankets and drinking hot chocolate. Dark Paladin was quite used to life in the human world. He found you kind and caring… and quite cute. You reminded him of Dark Magician Girl, though your hair was brunette, not blonde. Your eyes were a shade of dark green, as well.

“(Name)?”

You looked at him curiously. “Yes, Dark Paladin?”

“…I like it here. And thank you for caring for me, despite us being from different worlds,” he admitted softly.

You grinned at him. “You’re welcome! I know it’s been a lot to take in, being in a place so unfamiliar… but I’m glad you’re learning.”

You placed your cup down. “And… if you ever go back to your world… just know that you’re always welcome here, okay?”

He nodded slowly. “Mm.”

He reached and gently held your hand. It felt quite warm and large within your own.

**Extended: Christmas**

You handed a gift box to him. “Merry Christmas, Dark Paladin!”

He smiled and handed you one, as well. “And the same to you, (Name).”

You both opened the presents at the same time. When he saw his present, he was quite dumbfounded. He took it out. “(Name)… what is this?” he asked as he held it up. It was a metal string that had small metal beads laced, and a charm of a small figure that looked similar to him.

“It’s a charm! For your weapon!” you chirped. “I had it made for you.”

You scratched your head. “Do… do you like it?”

“…It’s quite pretty,” he remarked.

“Thank you!”

You looked at the present that Dark Paladin had gotten for you. “Oh my.”

It was a small knitted figurine of himself. You looked at him in absolute surprise. “D-Did you make this?”

There was a proud smirk on his face as he nodded. “After that time you taught me how to knit, I secretly learned and made that on my own.”

You cried happily and embraced him. “Oh, thank you, thank you!”

Best Christmas ever!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting close to the end. Thank you for reading~


	5. Next Spring

“Look, let’s go see the cherry blossoms, Dark Paladin!” 

He nodded. “Sure. I’ve heard that they only bloom in the spring.”

* * *

You both headed out to the cherry blossom viewing festival. Some people stared at him, but their attention shifted away to the trees. 

You and Dark Paladin managed to find a spot in the midst of the other sight-seers. He set up the blanket while you organized the food. Soon, you both were sitting down, admiring the pink blossoms falling off the trees.

“Isn’t it lovely?” you questioned. 

He nodded, agreeing with you. “They are, indeed.”

Then you both had lunch. “I made some dango and futomaki~” you chimed.

“Mmm. Thank you.”

After a chime of ‘itadakimasu’, you both started to eat.

* * *

After a while, you both returned home. “Wasn’t that fun?” you giggled. 

“People were staring at me,” he replied. “I just ignored them, like you told me to.”

“Mmm, glad that didn’t bother you.”

You headed to the kitchen.

“Ah… (Name), I’ll be in the bedroom.”

“Sure~ See you! I just have to put the bento cases away.”

He nodded, shooting you a small smile. Slowly, he trudged towards the room. He sat down on your bed, looking around. Suddenly, he sensed something, and turned his head to find himself face to face with Dark Magician.

“…What are you doing here?” he hissed.

“You know why I’m here.” The other figure crossed their arms. “You shouldn’t be here. Especially with that… human!”

Dark Paladin glared at the other. “Leave her out of this. I’ll go with you willingly… just leave her alone.”

Dark Magician made a sigh. “There is a reason we Monster spirits shouldn’t be mingling with humans. I’m sorry, Dark Paladin, but I have to do this. The Gods warned me. You really stretched it by being here for a year.”

Dark Paladin made a slow nod. “…I understand.”

Slowly, he gathered all of his armor and his weapon. As Dark Magician started to cast the spell to return them both to the spirit world, Dark Paladin looked out your bedroom door.

_‘(Name)… please forgive me. I’m sorry…’_

They both disappeared in a flash of light. You sensed something was wrong. Slowly, you turned and headed to your bedroom. You did not see the spirit monster.

“…Dark Paladin?”

You frantically searched around. All traces of him were missing. You sat down on the bed, a deep frown on your face.

“…Where did you go?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have reached the end. Thank you for reading.
> 
> Yes, I'm a jerk. No happy endings.
> 
> .......If anyone wants a sequel to this, I might be willing to do it.


End file.
